Jeff O'Neill: Danny you've got some great young players, what do you think it'd take for a team in a position like the Philadelphia Flyers to get to that next level, to be a team that contends for the playoffs and ultimately the Stanley Cup year after year? Is it for your young players to turn into star players, like do you look at teams that are kinda fighting in that same position, do you need more star power, what is it that you guys need?

Danny Briere: Well I think everybody wants more star power, and we all want the Connor McDavid and the Auston Matthews and etcetera but the reality is those guys are extremely tough to find. There's a chance that a guy like Michkov could turn into close to a star or superstar but otherwise you need depth throughout your lineup, you need your young players to become really good players. It feels like we're trending in that direction but there's still a long ways to go. I think consistency is probably one of the toughest things as a young guy, as a young player to find and to get and we see that. We see that on a nightly basis. For us you always have 2 or 3 guys that are not going and to become a good team I think that's one of the things we're going to need. It's so tough, you look at the teams that are stuck in the bottom of the standings - it's so tough to get out of it. That was part of why when we talked about the rebuild we didn't want to fall all the way down to the bottom, we wanted to stay competitive and have our young guys learn through a competitive team and a team that has a chance to win and make the playoffs because it's so tough to get out of there.


Danny really is a putz. Wow
- StepfordSam

Translation:

Hilferty and Comcast are still saying we can't tank.

So our plan remains pie in the sky and hope for a miracle.

Translation:

Hilferty and Comcast are still saying we can't tank.

So our plan remains pie in the sky and hope for a miracle.
- Tomahawk

I disagree with that. IMO they 3 stooges and "hilf" just do not want to do a proper rebuild.

They have made the choice to continue the flyers failing methods.

Translation:

Hilferty and Comcast are still saying we can't tank.

So our plan remains pie in the sky and hope for a miracle.
- Tomahawk

With the goaltending they have they very well might get a miracle. And it’s going to end up being a two season debacle in net.

Briere is completely unimpressive as a GM but he may be lucky. He lucked into Michkov. He lucked into Zavragin if he turns out to be as good as he is trending. He may just luck out again in the next two drafts.

How long will this debate go on? Will it stop after the upcoming draft? If the Flyers don't make some kind of impactful changes by the end of the draft will it stop?

To me it doesn't matter how they're going about it. They can choose to move their decent players, suck and build slowly from the draft or they can try to stay competitive while they try to find gems lower in the draft and sign/trade their way to top end talent. It doesnt matter. The whole tank/no tank, building a winning culture/draft high and develop high end talent stuff, is meaningless if the people in charge are poor at drafting, poor at talent evaluation and poor at team building. You're doomed either way. To me this up coming draft is it. If there isn't some kind of change that makes a major impact the debate is over.

Translation:

Hilferty and Comcast are still saying we can't tank.

So our plan remains pie in the sky and hope for a miracle.
- Tomahawk

OK, I can live with that if they make some dramatic moves. Botton line; I just want to be entertained. The problem is I don't think Danny and Jonsey are the guys to make anything exciting happen. Holmgren was the last gunslinger to do anything fun around here.

How long will this debate go on? Will it stop after the upcoming draft? If the Flyers don't make some kind of impactful changes by the end of the draft will it stop?

To me it doesn't matter how they're going about it. They can choose to move their decent players, suck and build slowly from the draft or they can try to stay competitive while they try to find gems lower in the draft and sign/trade their way to top end talent. It doesnt matter. The whole tank/no tank, building a winning culture/draft high and develop high end talent stuff, is meaningless if the people in charge are poor at drafting, poor at talent evaluation and poor at team building. You're doomed either way. To me this up coming draft is it. If there isn't some kind of change that makes a major impact the debate is over.
- Dkos

Sadly this is the truth.

With the goaltending they have they very well might get a miracle. And it’s going to end up being a two season debacle in net.

Briere is completely unimpressive as a GM but he may be lucky. He lucked into Michkov. He lucked into Zavragin if he turns out to be as good as he is trending. He may just luck out again in the next two drafts.
- psuhockey

he has seemed to come back down to earth since the trade to st pete. he is years away regardless.

Let me get this straight, trying to build a championship team but building a winning culture around their young players to develop is a failing method based on hope and luck? But tanking and drafting at the top of the draft for several years is not based on hope and luck?
- jd250

How long have you been watching the Flyers? Yes, yes it is failing. Has failed, is failing, and will continue to fail.

How long will this debate go on? Will it stop after the upcoming draft? If the Flyers don't make some kind of impactful changes by the end of the draft will it stop?

To me it doesn't matter how they're going about it. They can choose to move their decent players, suck and build slowly from the draft or they can try to stay competitive while they try to find gems lower in the draft and sign/trade their way to top end talent. It doesnt matter. The whole tank/no tank, building a winning culture/draft high and develop high end talent stuff, is meaningless if the people in charge are poor at drafting, poor at talent evaluation and poor at team building. You're doomed either way. To me this up coming draft is it. If there isn't some kind of change that makes a major impact the debate is over.
- Dkos

well said and absolutely true.

OK, I can live with that if they make some dramatic moves. Botton line; I just want to be entertained. The problem is I don't think Danny and Jonsey are the guys to make anything exciting happen. Holmgren was the last gunslinger to do anything fun around here.
- Dkos

I've lived through plenty of years of gunslinging. That kind of fun. It doesn't work anymore. There is one strategic way that brings higher odds. It's not gunslinger. I want to watch and root for a team that is a legit contender.

Actually he doesn't. He is saying that he'd rather stay the same mediocre irrelevant team that they've been rather than adopt a strategy to try and become a legit cup contender. They're either afraid and have no balls or they just are concerned with ticket sales and revenue.
- MJL

That isnt at all what he said

He said hed love to have a generational player but its extremely difficult to get. He also says the Flyers are a long way away from contending.

Vegas and Florida are good examples of teams that have won that didnt have all the best players. Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad, Eichel, Pietrangelo and Stone are all very good players but they arent McDavid, Matthews, Makar, Kucherov ect.

Vegas and Florida had deep teams with some talent the Flyers obviously dont have yet.

You also have to take everything said with a grain of salt. Briere's job is to spin things into positives for Comcast. Not everything he says is exactly what he believes

That isnt at all what he said

He said hed love to have a generational player but its extremely difficult to get. He also says the Flyers are a long way away from contending.


- xShoot4WarAmpsx

I replied to the post I chose to and addressed the points that I wanted to address. I'm aware of what he said

Vegas and Florida are good examples of teams that have won that didnt have all the best players. Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad, Eichel, Pietrangelo and Stone are all very good players but they arent McDavid, Matthews, Makar, Kucherov ect.


- xShoot4WarAmpsx

Within any subset of player groups there are levels. All of the players you listed are elite high level players. I've never stated that you have to have a generational player to become a legit contender. I've stated that you need all star to elite level players to form the core

Vegas and Florida had deep teams with some talent the Flyers obviously dont have yet.

You also have to take everything said with a grain of salt. Briere's job is to spin things into positives for Comcast. Not everything he says is exactly what he believes
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

Then he is nothing but a shiv for the corporation. Jones can do that BS. As the GM, he's a hockey guy or is supposed to be. Briere's job is to build a contending hockey team. I can see through the nonsense and know better than most when smoke is being blown.

I've lived through plenty of years of gunslinging. That kind of fun. It doesn't work anymore. There is one strategic way that brings higher odds. It's not gunslinger. I want to watch and root for a team that is a legit contender.
- MJL

It didn’t work then either. My point is that they are not going to do it the “right way” and even if they were to do it the right way they’d probably (frank) it up anyway…so they might as well get crazy. Unfortunately I don’t think Danny and Jonesy have it in them to do anything fun.

It didn’t work then either. My point is that they are not going to do it the “right way” and even if they were to do it the right way they’d probably (frank) it up anyway…so they might as well get crazy. Unfortunately I don’t think Danny and Jonesy have it in them to do anything fun.
- Dkos

I get what you're saying but I won't lower the bar anymore. Being entertained is no longer good enough and I've see enough of it where it won't fool me anymore. I become more apathetic to the team every day.

Exactly, or when you are the team's best penalty killer. Bonk was on the second pairing, whereas Richardinson was on the first for the entire tournament. Its easier to look ordinary on the 2nd pairing than the first. I thought Bonk looked good on the powerplay when he got the chance. I thin the Canada coach was abysmal in this entire tournament.
- jd250

The 1st game bonk was paired with schaefer, Sam was the 7th D. When Schaefer got hurt, they moved up Sam